Living on the opposite coast of the United States, far away from my family, I learned how to take care of myself and become more independent. Attending NYU also helped me develop my passions and discover new ones. For example, I continued pursuing my passion for dance by joining a Bollywood competition team (Bollywood is a type of Indian dance) and by taking dance courses. I also discovered my passion for learning about languages by majoring in linguistics. And most importantly, I learned about how much I love to travel by studying abroad in Florence, Italy for three months.
While in Italy, the things I had learned about in my classes and from books came to life. I found it fascinating how easy it was for me to connect the material I was learning in my classes to my new surroundings outside of the classroom. Walking down narrow, cobblestone streets and tuning into locals’ conversations, I felt excited when I could pick out words and phrases I had learned in my Italian course. Whether I was ordering food at a restaurant, reading street signs or meeting new friends, I could easily practice speaking Italian everywhere I went. I spent much of my time in Florence, engaging in the Italian culture as much as I could-- constantly exploring museums, indulging in Italian cuisine, and visiting other sites.
Outside of Florence, I also traveled to different cities around Italy and Western Europe. For each city I visited, I would scout out a location to take one of, what I now call, my signature “travel pose” photos. In these photos, I would always do the same pose: a lunge while arching my back, holding one arm up towards the sky and the other arm behind me.
